BELIZE CITY, Wed. Dec. 13, 2017–An inmate of the Belize Central Prison who is serving time for multiple offences, including burglary and damage to property, ran afoul of the law again.
Forty-three-year-old Kenroy Cooke appeared before Senior Magistrate Aretha Ford in the Magistrate’s Court this morning, to answer to two counts of an unnatural crime and one count of harm, after a fellow prisoner made a report to police last month that he sodomized him twice in the cell they were made to share, which led to charges being brought against Cooke by the police. No plea was taken from Cooke because the offence of an unnatural crime is indictable, and will be heard in the Supreme Court. Since Cooke is a prisoner serving time, the question of bail never arose, and Magistrate Ford adjourned his matter to March 14, 2018.
The incidents for which Cooke has been charged, allegedly occurred on November 25 and 29, when, according to a report made to Hattieville police by the victim, Cooke forcibly sodomized a 21-year-old man who was on remand for an offense of a sexual nature. The man told police that the first time the assault occurred he fainted, and when he regained consciousness he had pains in his anus and lower abdomen and discovered what appeared to be semen around his anus.
The inmate told police that he reported the attack to prison officials and asked to be taken to the medical clinic on the prison compound, but instead he was given ibuprofen tablets by the prison officer to whom he reported the incident.
Cooke allegedly forcibly had sexual intercourse with the man a second time, on November 29. This time, the man told police, he was conscious, and after the assault he took off his boxers that had semen on it, took a bath, and then got into a fight with Cooke, after he confronted him.
The victim’s family recently attempted to visit him, but they were turned away by prison officials without any reason being given to them. Later, the man’s mother learned that there had been a vicious rape in the prison and it was confirmed to her that her son was the victim.
When the victim’s father confronted a senior prison official about what had allegedly happened to his son, the father was told by this official “that is what we do with them when they come in here and try to play bad.”
Amandala understands from our investigation that the 21-year-old man was not supposed to have been placed in the cell with Cooke, because he was on remand and was not serving time, as Cooke is doing. The family of the victim indicated that they will take legal action against the Kolbe-managed Belize Central Prison.
Cooke is serving time for 4 convictions. He is serving a sentence of 3 years for theft, 18 months for damage to property, 2 months for a mischievous act, and 5 years for burglary.